University of Pittsburgh MSW Fall 2019

[doctormelody]

Hi all! I know it's early but I just thought I would start this thread for those planning to apply to the University of Pittsburgh's MSW program this year. This can be a space to share our hopes, fears, stats, scholarship info, and any technical issues that we may be having with the process.

As for me, I'm planning to apply by the December 31st deadline so that I can get that sweet sweet combination of guaranteed admission and scholarship assistance.  This is my second cycle applying and I'm eager to get the process over and done with!

Does anyone know if they have opened the application yet? I already asked my references from last year if they would mind writing me one more letter of recommendation and they all said yes, thank God. I'm having a little trouble with the ApplyYourself portal, though - when I log in and click on "Edit Application" nothing happens. I did create my profile last spring though so maybe that's part of the problem? Thoughts?

[green_dots21]

Many schools won't open their applications until September 1.

[doctormelody]

3 hours ago, green_dots21 said:

Many schools won't open their applications until September 1.

Ah, makes sense! Not long to wait then. ?

[doctormelody]

Anyone else thinking of applying to Pitt?

[doctormelody]

Just sent my recommendation requests and I feel a bit nauseous. I don't know why, since I already asked them and they were all happy to write me another letter. Ugh. I just hate asking people for things. 

Is anyone out there? Or have I just started this too early?

[bloome]

I submitted my application today! Does anyone know if they offer any good fellowships/assistantships? Also wondering how long it usually takes for an admission decision. I'm already so antsy! 

[doctormelody]

On 11/15/2018 at 6:30 PM, bloome said:

I submitted my application today! Does anyone know if they offer any good fellowships/assistantships? Also wondering how long it usually takes for an admission decision. I'm already so antsy! 

Hi @bloome. I think the turnaround for admission decisions is fairly quick, or at least it was last year. It seems like everyone had to wait until almost spring to hear about scholarships, though, which sucks. He're the thread from last year if you want to get a better idea of the timeline:

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by doctormelody

[bloome]

On 11/30/2018 at 5:17 PM, doctormelody said:

Hi @bloome. I think the turnaround for admission decisions is fairly quick, or at least it was last year. It seems like everyone had to wait until almost spring to hear about scholarships, though, which sucks. He're the thread from last year if you want to get a better idea of the timeline:

thank you!!!!!!

 

[doctormelody]

@bloome No problem! I assume you haven't heard anything yet?

[bloome]

42 minutes ago, doctormelody said:

@bloome No problem! I assume you haven't heard anything yet?

I have not, although I know the deadline isnt until 12/31 so im not sure how many people they reach out to before the deadline has actually approached 

[doctormelody]

19 minutes ago, bloome said:

I have not, although I know the deadline isnt until 12/31 so im not sure how many people they reach out to before the deadline has actually approached 

Makes sense. I'm still waiting on a recommender who isn't responding to emails and now I've become convinced that my entire future is ruined. Fun times.

[bloome]

13 hours ago, doctormelody said:

Makes sense. I'm still waiting on a recommender who isn't responding to emails and now I've become convinced that my entire future is ruined. Fun times.

Omg, I had to track down mine, but they finally finished and submitted them for me. Now im worried about them getting my transcript in time even though I sent it a few days ago lol

[doctormelody]

4 hours ago, bloome said:

Omg, I had to track down mine, but they finally finished and submitted them for me. Now im worried about them getting my transcript in time even though I sent it a few days ago lol

I'm sure it will be fine! I was worried about my transcripts too because I sent them by mail and their address is so ridiculously long that I couldn't fit it all in the forms provided by my colleges,  but it now says that they're been received on the website, so I can at least check that off my to-do list.

[doctormelody]

Did anyone attend the info session today? I thought it was very informative! I can type up a summary of my notes later if anyone is interested.

[bloome]

On 12/8/2018 at 2:52 PM, doctormelody said:

Did anyone attend the info session today? I thought it was very informative! I can type up a summary of my notes later if anyone is interested.

I did not but I would totally appreciate any good info you got!

[doctormelody]

Okay! Overall it was a really good presentation, I'd say it even bordered on slick. They're trying to sell their school to people though, so that makes sense and I didn't mind.

I'll try not to repeat info that can be found on the website, but there were a lot of things that the info session helped clarify for me that I think other people might be similarly confused by, and some other info that I just found reassuring and/or important.

Firstly, they really emphasized that if you do not apply by December 31st, you will not be considered for a merit scholarship, point blank. They were very serious about this, even going so far as to say that if you have everything else in by the deadline but a professor submits a rec on Jan. 3rd, for instance, you will NOT be considered for scholarship assistance. Of course this didn't help with my anxiety in my current predicament but I still thought it was extremely important. I overheard the director of admissions and financial aid that if they have extra money they *MIGHT* occasionally give out need-based scholarships later, but this is definitely not something you can count on.

The standout parts of the presentation for me were when they talked about their field education office and their in-house career services office. They emphasized that all the field instructors have at least two years of experience in the social work field and they are really committed to matching students with placements that are a good fit for both the student and the agency, saying that they are willing to send students on up to three interviews if the first one doesn't seem like a good match, which I appreciated. As for career services, they were really proud of what they have to offer, and I think rightly so. They mentioned that they offer workshops on topics like salary negotiation and long-distance job searches, individual consultations, and even filmed mock interviews and a professional photo day. I haven't been to info sessions at other schools so I don't know if there are comparable resources elsewhere, but I was really impressed by this portion of the program.

I don't know if anyone else would have this problem, but when I was looking at the website I had a really hard time understanding what Integrated Healthcare even was, and now that I attended this info session, I feel like I have a better understanding of it as the practice of working as part of a team of individuals helping patients, usually in a hospital setting. Maybe that's basic info but it certainly helped me to learn that. If you're interested in that certificate program, there's also a $10,000 stipend called the Edith Baker Fellowship that students with a GPA of 3.5 are eligible for. 

Another program that they spoke about in-depth was the certificate in Gerontology. A statistic I found interesting was that while apparently only 12% of social workers start out wanting to work with older adults, 75% of them end up working with them within the first five years of their career. I honestly am not interested in working with older adults myself but they made it sound so appealing that I would almost reconsider! The same is true of the Integrated Healthcare certificate. 

Other fields they wanted people to know that they were strong in were Child Welfare and Race and Social Problems. They also talked about COSA (their macro concentration) at length but I kind of tuned that out because it was a long presentation and I'm interested in Direct Practice.

Whew, that was a lot of typing! I hope this helps someone. If you're able to attend an info session in the coming months (I think they have two more scheduled) I highly recommend it, there was food and helpful info and the members of the administration were all very down-to-earth and friendly. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by doctormelody

[doctormelody]

Is anyone else having trouble with the form cutting off long titles of things? It did this for both the community college where I took a couple classes and (more gratingly) the actual name of my major. Very annoying.

[doctormelody]

I submitted my application! Just waiting on that last letter of recommendation now. 

Any other priority applicants out there?

[bloome]

Guys I got my acceptance letter from Pitt today! It was a very generic letter with no word on funding yet. 

[doctormelody]

4 hours ago, bloome said:

Guys I got my acceptance letter from Pitt today! It was a very generic letter with no word on funding yet. 

Congratulations!!! That's so exciting. Maybe we will be classmates!

[bloome]

On 12/20/2018 at 9:21 PM, doctormelody said:

Congratulations!!! That's so exciting. Maybe we will be classmates!

thank you!!!!! I also got accepted to Case Western today with a scholarship. Not sure how much yet, it's definitely going to be tough deciding where to go 

[doctormelody]

My professor submitted her recommendation!!! Currently grinning from ear-to-ear. Hopefully my application will be listed as complete tomorrow; when I emailed to ask about a transcript glitch they told me they were just waiting on the recommendation! Ah, and she sent me a nice email too, so I know she’s not mad. I’m so indescribably relieved!!!!

[bloome]

Does anyone know when we will hear about scholarship offers/information? 

[doctormelody]

According to the thread I linked earlier from last year, the earliest anyone heard about money (at least on here) was March 1st. 

I don't think there's a thread for 2017 (I could be wrong), but in 2016, the earliest was February 18th. So probably late February/early March? I'm sorry @bloome, I know that's probably not what you were hoping to hear.

[doctormelody]

I was just accepted!!!!!! I'm so happy and relieved. I really needed this today.